


The Body You Conceal

by Waldo



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Angst, Comfort, Episode Related, Episode Tag, Episode: s01e04 Cyberwoman, M/M, Scars
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-03-01
Updated: 2008-03-01
Packaged: 2017-10-05 11:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/41264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waldo/pseuds/Waldo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p><em>Does the body you conceal / Need the touch of someone's hand?</em></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Body You Conceal

**Author's Note:**

> This was my second fic for [](http://www.livejournal.com/users/lastficstanding/profile)[**lastficstanding**](http://www.livejournal.com/users/lastficstanding/).  The challenge this time was to chose any song lyrics we liked and build our ~1000 word fic around it.
> 
> I used:  
> 
> 
>   
> _Does the body you conceal  
> Need the touch of someone's hand?  
> Ashes; violations.  
> Who would they burn for?  
> In your isolation what can't you see?_
> 
>                                                          - "Hold Me" (Duran Duran)

It had started with simple, casual flirting. Ianto was so buttoned-up it made Jack's back ache just to look at him. He wanted to see him laugh or get angry enough to make a crude remark. So he'd made casual comments about how Ianto probably went to the beach in a three-piece suit. Ianto had simply remarked that he'd never been fond of beaches. Too much sand getting in uncomfortable places. Jack couldn't decide if he'd been insinuating something or if that reply had been perfectly benign.

When needling him hadn't worked, Jack switched to flattering him to see if Ianto would take the bait. He introduced him to people as more or less the office admin and someone to stand around looking good in a suit. Ianto had told him that was harassment, but there was a gleam in his eye and no malice in his voice.

Then there had been Lisa. And after that, there had been Ianto's suspension.

Jack had done some serious soul-searching the first week Ianto had been home. He came to two major conclusions. One, he didn't want to lose Ianto – not from the team, and not from his life. And two, maybe if he'd paid more attention to _Ianto_ and not just to what he was wearing, it may not have come to this.

He'd let Ianto grieve in peace. He and Owen removed all traces of the cyber-conversion unit and the cyber-technology attached to Lisa and then put her in a drawer with several seals and alarms on it.

Soon after Jack started paying Ianto nightly visits. Every evening, Jack would drop by Ianto's flat for tea or a beer, and he made a serious effort to get to know the person under those suits.

At first the visits had been perfunctory. Ianto was even more uptight and rigid in his jumpers and jeans than he was in his suits in the office. Everything was 'yes sir' and 'no sir.' But over time, that changed.

Almost three weeks after Ianto had been sent home 'indefinitely but not forever', they'd had their first all-nighter. Ianto had lit a fire in the small fireplace and he'd stared into it as he told Jack the whole story of getting out of the Tower.

"The hallway was on fire. Something fell… I'd taken off my jacket and my shirt wasn't any real protection. I was so busy at first taking care to get Lisa somewhere safe that I really didn't realize what had happened until someone pointed it out." Ianto took a long sip of his beer.

"How bad?" Jack asked quietly, moving from the settee to the floor next to Ianto. He rested a hand between Ianto's shoulder-blades, but wasn't shocked when Ianto stiffened and shook him off.

"Bad enough," was Ianto's only answer as he finished his beer.

"Can I see?" Jack asked quietly.

Ianto turned and fixed Jack with a look that was somewhere between amazed and horrified. "Why?"

Jack had to stop and consider that. Why had he asked to see Ianto's scars? Finally he said, "Because you keep yourself so hidden and closed off. Because you never let anyone see anything more or less than a perfect facade. And I want you to know that it's okay if you aren't impeccable once in a while."

"I thought you liked my suits," Ianto retorted, hoping to keep the conversation light.

"I do. But I think I like _you_ a lot more than the suits. Now that I'm getting to know you, that is. And I want to prove to you that I'm not as shallow as I seem."

They held each other's eyes for a long moment as they decided where this was going. What it was.

Finally Ianto sighed and reached up to pull the fisherman's jumper over his head. He held still as Jack raised the back of the maroon t-shirt he wore underneath. "They said they could do some reconstructive surgery if I wanted but…" Ianto shrugged.

Jack traced one long red mark with two fingers and Ianto shivered violently under him. "That hurt?" Jack asked quietly.

Ianto shook his head, embarrassed. "No. Sorry. I just… No one's touched the scars since the doctors released me from hospital."

Jack carefully traced over the marks, using enough pressure to not give Ianto chills, but light enough that he shouldn't cause any pain. "Two years ago?"

"Almost," Ianto answered quietly.

Jack rucked Ianto's shirt up enough that he could get both hands under it and started a slow massage of Ianto's back. "That's a long time."

Ianto stiffened and sat up straight, "Sir… Jack…"

Jack leaned in close. "Easy. I'm not… that wasn't… Two years is a long time to be alone. That's all I'm saying. And all I'm offering is a little companionship. Right here, by the fire. If you'll let me, if it doesn't hurt. I can rub your back, let you talk. Whatever you need. Nothing else."

Ianto pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes to force back the tears he felt brewing. He'd nearly gotten the whole team killed. He'd nearly let loose a force that was capable of destroying the human race. And worse, he'd betrayed the trust Jack had given him unconditionally since the day they'd met.

And here was Jack, offering the kind of comfort he'd lain in bed wishing for night after night, even while Lisa was still technically alive.

Jack ignored the sudden emotional storm and wiggled until he was sitting behind and close to Ianto. He helped him take the t-shirt off, pausing long enough to let Ianto object if he wanted to.

"Just relax," Jack whispered as he began working on the tight muscles under the pale and red marks. "I think some simple human contact will do you a world of good."

Ianto bit his lip to stop the sob that wanted to burst out and explain how right Jack was.


End file.
